Salt needs

[scooteremu]

This question is obviously noob esque and it is more angled towards Trans Iowa but what does everyone do towards getting their salt needs? Like for Trans Iowa, I had the idea that I could get it from salt tabs, nuun, etc. Easy tablets that I can just put in the bottle as I go or with those gas stations and fast food places, I could load up then. I guess with the food option, I was just worried about keeping up the hourly intake.

Appreciate it.

[AZTtripper]

Eating American foods will take care of most of your salt needs, I should think.

I do like salty snack foods while riding.

On yesterdays ride when I ran out of water I really liked the taste of salty sweat pouring off my forehead.

I like a brand of electrolytes called sport legs http://www.sportlegs.com/about/welcome.asp and a hydration drink called Vitalyte http://www.vitalyte.com/ between those two I get by pretty well for most rides. I don't really care for the heavier sports drink mixes YMMV.

[scooteremu]

So how do you get by in 24 hr races with that setup? Water, Gatorade and salty food?

[AZTtripper]

So how do you get by in 24 hr races with that setup? Water, Gatorade and salty food?

I do just fine bikepacking from one Circle K to the next. Whatever your buying for supplies you'll be getting plenty of salt. Having the powder that I like and some tabs that's all I am carrying extra. Everything else can be purchased along the way.

[adelorenzo]

1. Use any sports drink or tablets that contain electrolytes (including sodium)
2. Don't drink too much

Follow those two things and you'll be fine. A lot of recent research on endurance athletes shows that they are drinking too much fluid and that is leading to lower sodium concentrations and, in extreme cases, hyponatremia. It's not the salt loss through sweating that gets you but the extra water sloshing around in your body.

[ruthslp]

the above suggestions are both good, you need to experiment and see what works for you with this stuff there are so many variables.
recently i had some issues i thought were related to electrolytes and in reading a ton of stuff it seems the best thing you can do for your body in relation to the electrolytes you need during any excercise is to maintain a diet of unprocessed foods and LOW sodium. if your base body metabolism is used to functioning on low salt amounts it will not have much trouble doing so during exercise, it keeps a homeostatic level more easily without relying on a salt intake...as long as like stated already, you do not overdrink....

[scooteremu]

Thanks all. I am pretty much going with the fact that food will take care of the salt needs along with water. I am guessing that it wont be too hot so salt needs might need to be so high for requirements.